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Austrian Baker Adolf Sailer New Book

On the 20th anniversary of the opening of Sailer Bäckerei & Konditorei (Bakery & Confectioner), Austrian-born baker Adolf Sailer has published a book that is part memoir, part cookbook. Sailer was born into a family that had been baking bread for more than 100 years, but he always wanted to go overseas. He first came to Japan in 1984 when a friend told him the Fukuoka-based sweets shop Chidoriya was looking for a pastry chef. “Back then, I thought Japanese were still wearing kimono,” said Sailer who had little knowledge of the country. In 1994, he opened his eponymous bakery in Minami-ku. There were hardly any shops anywhere in Japan offering authentic Austrian bread like Sailer’s, but he was convinced that “customers will come as long as I keep making ‘the real thing’.” His shop now attracts 400 customers a day, or ten times the number that initially came to his shop. Sailer has put a lot of energy into training the next generation of bakers. He teaches at Nakamura Culinary School and has hired several of its graduates. Ten of his former employees have since gone on to open their own bakeries around Kyushu. Sailer expanded his shop this March to add a gallery space where people can “enjoy Austrian art and music along with [Austrian] bread and cake”.